Capital City Half Marathon- Race Report

I wish I had some sort of device that could record my thoughts because despite the fact that the race just happened it already feels so hard to remember everything that was going through my mind. I apologize because exactly zero photos were taken, whoops! I also apologize because this is probably going to be long. 

Friday 

Pretty much everything about Friday was as perfect as I could have hoped. I enjoyed a carb heavy day and made sure to stay well hydrated and loaded up on my electrolytes. Honestly, I was pretty lazy. Even though I knew we had visitors coming in I didn't do as much to prepare as I had planned to. I worked on my playlist (which was hugely helpful) for most of the morning and hit the expo in the afternoon. The expo took place at a convention center downtown and while I have no real complaints it also wasn't very impressive. It was set up in a large conference room but as opposed to making good use of the space the set it up almost in aisles that led to lots of congestion. They also had packet pick up sorted by bib number as opposed to last name and while I was prepared with our email confirmations a lot of people weren't so some of the lines were a bit backed up. Despite the traffic we were in and out in less than half an hour. 

I took a little power nap before getting started on dinner (being lazy all morning can really tire a girl out!). We enjoyed our fettuccine w/ meatless meatballs and got ready to head to the hotel. I obsessively went over all the things I was packing and ended up with enough luggage to stay for a week! This was my first time staying in a hotel before a race and my anxiety was through the roof. Luckily I remembered all the important stuff and also brought quite the selection of breakfast options. Our hotel room was insanely nice and I surprisingly slept like a baby despite my nerves.

Pre-Race

I woke up easily at 5:32a and got right into my pre-race routine. I made a small cup of coffee and enjoyed it with a large glass of water while trying to shake out some mystery pains. My right hip felt off (which is weird because I have never had hip troubles) so I used my heating pad while enjoying an episode of Full House. A bit after 6a I ate my standard bread + PB2 + 1/2 a banana and drank some more water. Our hotel was honestly just feet from the starting line which was amazingly convenient, it seemed a little crazy to stay in a hotel when I live about 10 minutes from the race but I would absolutely do it again. Worth every penny. We geared up and headed down around 7:30a. The weather was fantastic, "felt like 56" and there were just a few clouds in the sky. Everything about the morning went as well as could be. I got into my corral  and lined up with the 2 hour pace group, I was feeling ready to own this race.

Go Time

After some great starting line music we were on our way! I settled into a nice 9:00ish pace and was so thankful for the pacers. This was the first race that I didn't go out way too quickly and that definitely made all the difference for me. I had made the decision beforehand to carry water and fuel and not have to deal with the water stop madness and that was also a good choice. Miles 1 through 3 were solid, I felt good, I teared up a few times and I spotted K. for the first time (he was seriously spectator extraordinaire). My fuel plan was a shot blok every 3ish miles and to make my 20oz of water last the whole race. 

(disclaimer: my RunKeeper app has this course being super long, at 13.47 miles, so my splits are probably a bit off but it's the only data I have on hand. A few friends each had their GPS watches claiming 13.36 so take that as you will)

Mile 1  8:54

Mile 2 9:02

Mile 3 9:03

4 through 6 is kind of a blur. We tackled our first uphill, which is still nothing because Columbus is pretty freaking flat, but it felt like a mountain at the time and the wind was blasting us in the face. I tried to eat a second shot blok and it was just not working. I chewed and spit it out which made me nervous. Around mile 5.5 was the first time I wanted to quit. I was still with my pace group but I felt like I was already starting to dig deep and knew it was way too soon to feel that way. The only thing that kept me running at this point was assuming I'd see K. shortly and I didn't want him to see me walk. Right as expected I saw him just past mile 6 and it was a life saver. I was right next to the pacer and I excitedly pointed that out (even though inside I wanted to die)

Mile 4 8:55

Mile 5 9:06

Mile 6 9:04

7 & 8 were the last miles that felt remotely bearable. Pretty uneventful, I let the pacers get a tad a head of me but I caught up to them quickly. I was just running at this point and didn't know how much longer I could do that for. 

Mile 7 8:50

Mile 8 8:50

From 9 to the end I was dying. Due to all my set backs my longest training run this period had been a 9 miler and mentally that really messed with me. I hit the wall hard core. This is also where it finally clicked that the pacers were running a clock time of 2 hours and not a chip time, we had started in corral C so that was shaving nearly 3 minutes off my plan and I just did not have that in me. I admittedly started walking a bit here but kept the 2:00 sign in my sight. Despite the walking breaks I didn't lose much time at all but I pretty much knew sub 2 was gone. I started crying, I desperately wanted to quit and it was pretty terrible. I couldn't get any fuel down and I knew I needed it. I saw K. around mile 10 and that kept me running through a whole song. I felt like I was back on track in mile 12 but turns out that was my slowest mile of the whole race, I probably would have been better off sticking with walk/run. I saw K. again right past 12 (I don't know how he kept getting to these spots so fast!) and only kept running because I didn't want him to see me walk. 

When my RunKeeper app popped in my ear to tell me I had hit 13 miles, I knew I was close to the real 13 mile point. It announced a 1:56:XX time and I did the math in my head and knew sub 2 had to be so close. I had promised myself that I would cross the finish line dying so I put everything I had into my sprint to the end. I felt terrible, everything was burning, I crossed the line and just fell onto a volunteer. My app gave me a time of 2:00:38 for 13.47 and I didn't know what that meant for my official chip time but I didn't care at that moment.

Mile 9 8:59

Mile 10 8:58

Mile 11 8:55

Mile 12 9:12

Mile 13 9:00

Mile 13-13.47 8:38 pace (yay sprinting)

I stumbled through the (very congested) finisher's chute and got all my goodies. I found my way to K. and immediately took off my shoes to reveal quite the collection of blisters, ouch. I still didn't know my time but he gave me my present anyways (a Garmin! Finally! If I had had this during the race I would have known just how close I really was...). He had to jet off to work so we said our goodbyes and I walked around finding more things to eat and drink while waiting for my sister. 

An alert popped up that my results were available and I was forced to find out that I was a mere 5 seconds away from my goal. So many feelings washed over me. Of course I instantly thought of the few walking breaks I took or wondered if I could have sprinted harder at the end. I tried to do that math (5 seconds divided by 13.1 miles...) and replay every step in my mind. Disappointment started to creep in and then I thought back to an article I had read recently about reframing your thoughts and how that is the key to future success. I knew sub 2 was a lofty goal given my sporadic training, I just hadn't gotten the long runs in. This was a six and a half minute PR and that is HUGE. I couldn't downplay that victory. This is progress and that is great. I also ran PAIN FREE. My muscles were burning and my legs felt like lead but nothing hurt and that's also a pretty big deal for me. I've been fighting with my foot issues for so long and it was such a relief to not be affected by those on race day.

I'm proud of myself and more determined than ever to fight for that sub 2. I've already started looking at what halves I can add to my schedule and have been tantalizingly close to making the plunge into full marathon territory. I've got some training plans to review and some things to check on my calendar but expect some future race announcements soon. For now I'm going to switch my focus to cycling to hopefully not embarrass myself in this duathlon in 13 days (eek). 

Any advice on how to become a better cyclist in less than two weeks? :-)

Will run for cupcakes

What a weekend. I'm still exhausted and really have no idea how I made it to work on time this morning! I have a race recap in the works, but for now I'll just fill in the rest of the weekend.

Post-race on Saturday was filled with pancakes, bananas, vitamin water and ice baths. My sister and brother in law headed out of town right as our next weekend visitor was arriving. Pizza was eaten, beers were drank, pool was played (I am a TERRIBLE pool player!) and lots of fun was had. We stayed up far too late, especially given that I had woken up @ 5:32a, but it was a fantastic night.

I managed to be lazy for the first few hours of Sunday but then I realized that our house was a disaster and despite my tired legs I couldn't (and shouldn't!) just lay around all day. I did a marathon cleaning session and started prepping foods for our mini Cinco de Mayo party. The menu was pretty simple- homemade guacamole, veggie fajitas, margarita cupcakes and fresh margaritas for drinking.

As expected the cupcakes were the star of the show, though my guacamole gave them a run for the money (my secret ingredient- finely diced home roasted red pepper, it just makes it extra special). After the success of my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, I knew I wanted to have  similarly festive alcohol-infused cupcake. Luckily, the Brown Eyed Baker had a delicious (and easy) sounding recipe. I followed her recipe to a T and the only thing I didn't love was the frosting, but I think that's really just my own issue with basic buttercreams since all my taste testers were fans. Now that I'm baking a bit more frequently I think I need to start playing with new frostings.

 Fresh lime zest gave the cupcakes the perfect amount of tartness

 I really need to work on equally filling my cupcakes.

We ate real food first. 

Garnished with a lime wedge and a dash of course salt. 

Cinco de Mayo ended a bit early since I may have fallen asleep during a movie that we were watching. Sorry friends! You aren't boring, I was just exhausted. 

A perfect end to a pretty great weekend.

So close yet so far...

2:00:04. 5 seconds! Of course there's disappointment, but I ran my race, I pushed through when I wanted to quit and I collapsed into a stranger when I crossed the finish line because I had given it my all. A time that started with a 1 would have been ideal, obviously, but I can't argue with a 6 and a half minute PR. This weekend I celebrate, Monday morning I start looking at what I can do better.

Me Day

Greetings Blogland!

I'm taking today as a me day. I've got a vacation day from work, I slept in and now I have the next few hours to work on my race day playlist, clean the house for my weekend visitors and lounge around with the kitties to fully rest my muscles :-) I'll be hitting up the expo later today (one of the best parts of race weekend!) and then enjoying a nice spaghetti dinner with a few of my favorite people.

My focus for the day is to keep my nerves at bay and just remember that I've done everything I can do.  I'll be dreaming dreams of sub-2 all day and night and giving this race all I've got. In past races I was too afraid to fight for one goal because I didn't want to end up disappointed but I think a little disappointment is okay and can be motivational. Regardless of my time I'll be happy knowing that I did my best (is that too corny?) so that's what I plan to do.

At some point I'll be back with a race report, hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Carb Loading?

With less than 48 hours until race time (yay!) I'm going a bit crazy over here. Physically, there isn't much more I can do. I plan on getting some good stretching in tonight and tomorrow and maybe squeezing in an easy bike ride or a long walk, purely because the weather here is beyond perfect, but that's about it. What I CAN do is completely obsess about everything else. Over the past week I've definitely read every article I could find about pre-half marathon routines. Despite this being my third half marathon I'm still approaching this whole thing like a beginner and trying to be as thorough as possible. Perhaps this is me trying to overcome my less than ideal training with perfect nutrition or something, but regardless I feel like I'm learning things.

So let's talk about carbs.

While perusing Runner's World I found a lot of differing opinions on exactly how many carbs one should eat pre-race. This article said a marathoner should eat 4.5-5.5g of carbs per POUND of body weight during the 2-3 days before a race, while this study showed that an average of 5-6g/kg of body weight led to an increased performance. What I took away from most of my research was that there really isn't an exact answer to this question. There's no magic number to aim for but there is proof that increased carb consumption does help.

What does that mean to me?

Generally, I strive to eat a lower carb diet. By no means does that mean LOW carb! When I first because a vegetarian (light years ago, ha) I relied on carbohydrates far too much. As I've grown up and learned more about my health (and become more serious about exercising) I've shifted my nutritional goals a bit. I aim to get more protein and good fats and a few less carbs. Since I'm "only" running a half marathon, I have simply shifted my diet around and I'm aiming (loosely) for 3-5g/kg for today and tomorrow. 

Something important to remember is that carbs aren't just bread- they are found in fruits and starchy vegetables (sweet potatoes are a fantastic source of carbohydrates!) too. Most of the articles I read also recommended staying away from foods high in fats and not eating too much fiber the night before the race (obviously). Here's a look at my planned eats for today

Breakfast

Greek yogurt pancakes made with 0% raspberry Chobani 

~44g carbs

Drinks

Vitamin Water Revive (normally I drink the Zero, but I want the potassium AND carbs today + tomorrow so I will drink the regular kind)

~32g carbs

Lunch

Baked tofu (marinated in dijon + agave) sandwich on double protein whole wheat bread w/ spicy red pepper hummus & romaine

1 clementine

~55g carbs

post-work snack

Thai Chili popchips 

~20g carbs

Dinner

Homemade burrito bowl (quinoa, black beans, sweet potato, red/orange peppers +onions, avocado, lettuce, 0% plain Chobani)

~53g carbs

Dessert

0% plain Chobani w/ raw blueberries + strawberries

~10g/carbs

Total Carbs

214g (!!!!!)

This puts me comfortably inside the 3-5g/kg range and also gives me a whopping 75g of protein for the day.  

What are your thoughts on carb loading? 

Meal Planning + Grocery Shopping for Two

After years of living with roommates (and not sharing food) and then living alone, I felt like I had just about mastered the art of grocery shopping for one. There were definitely some times when I would overestimate and things would go bad, but in general I felt like I had a perfectly stocked fridge. I loved knowing exactly what was at home and planning dinner as I walked home from work.

Oh my how things have changed!

Despite having lived together for a few years now I feel like I'm just finally getting getting the hang of shopping for our family of two. K. and I are both typically very active people who strive to eat as healthy as possible while living on a budget. All those things combined make grocery shopping a real chore. I've been working really hard at making a meal plan and then basing our grocery list off that and it seems to be pretty successful. Here's a look at the planned eats + groceries for this week.

Breakfast:
Eggs + toast, bagels w/ cream cheese, yogurt + fruit or pancakes. If not for the half this weekend, bagels wouldn't have made the grocery list but they are a nice little treat.

Lunches:
Salads, sandwiches (turkey for K., PB2 + jam for me), leftovers

Dinners:
Monday: eating up leftovers (random pizza for K., giant sweet potato + assorted greens for me)
Tuesday: Spicy Peanut Noodles
Wednesday: Giant Salad w/ baked tofu
Thursday: Messy Mexican Burrito Bowls
Friday: Pasta night
Saturday: cupcakes (oh just wait for these!) + out to dinner
Sunday: eat our way through leftovers

Grocery list

Fruit/Veg
Carrots, cucumbers, romaine, baby spinach, bok choy, avocados, green onions, red/orange peppers, cilantro, limes, bananas, apples  (I wasn't pleased with the organic apple selection so I got strawberries + blueberries on sale instead), frozen edamame, onions

Grainy Items
Brown rice noodles, linguine, blueberry bagels, Double Protein whole wheat bread

Dairy
Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, buttermilk (both for cupcakes), light cream cheese, eggs, muenster cheese

Proteins
Black beans, tofu, turkey (for K.'s lunches), PB2, hummus

Drinks
Revive Vitamin Water Zero (SO MUCH POTASSIUM!), Naked coconut water

Snacks
Pop chips (sweet potato and Thai chili. They were on sale), popcorn kernels, flaxseed tortilla chips and salsa


Other 
Powdered sugar (for cupcakes), pasta sauce


Total money spent: $75

Very important thing that I forgot- CUPCAKE LINERS! Stupid Ashley.

I can't remember the exact split but we buy organic as much as we can- especially fruits and veggies. 

The snacks don't stand a chance of making it to the weekend, minus the popcorn kernels since I bought 2 lbs, but I bought more than enough to get us both through breakfast, lunch and dinner for nearly a week. We always have a pretty well stocked pantry so rice, quinoa, lentils, etc. are already in the house. K. also supplements his diet with protein powder after all his long rides + hard climbing days, so that helps to keep him full.

I'll report back on how long these last- I swear if I'm at the store for anything other than cupcake liners and tequila (an important ingredient in the cupcakes ;-) ) before next Monday I will not be a happy camper!

A kitchen success, a kitchen failure and my LAST training run!

Yesterday before I went to the grocery store I emailed K. the meal plan for the week + the snacks I planned on buying to see if he had anything to add (we are trying to stick to meal plans & grocery lists, but I've got a whole post dedicated to that coming up later today) and his only request was that I bump Thursday's dinner up to last night. So our planned salad night turned into Spicy Peanut Noodles

A few years ago K. and I were OBSESSED with making mac n' cheese. It was a very elaborate recipe and not even remotely healthy but it was insanely delicious. A couple months back I whipped up these easy peanut noodles and K. decided they should become our new mac n' cheese. I perused the internet for inspiration but I wasn't super stoked on any of the recipes I found- they either had too much oil, too much soy, too much honey or not enough PB. Here's my version of the sauce (enough for 3 large portions, or 1 normal sized portion and 1 K. sized portion):

3 T sesame oil + 1 T red pepper flakes cooked over medium heat for 4 minutes, strain out the red pepper flakes and return the oil to the pan.  Add in 4 T of PB2 (prepared per instructions on the jar), 3 T soy sauce and 2 T agave nectar. Stir to combine, adjust as needed. I added another sprinkle of dry PB2 and a squeeze of agave.

We used brown rice noodles and added in sauteed bok choy. I topped it off with green onions and cilantro. Quick and delicious.

This morning was my last training run! My legs were tired but I really just wanted to test out the temperature as the forecast for Saturday is looking a lot like today. According to weather.com it "felt like" 54, so I went with my favorite Moving Comfort shorts and a basic C9 tee. I did an easy two at a ~9ish pace. Admittedly I set out for three but I felt the slightest twinge in my foot so I stopped on the spot, not the time to get hurt! I was a tad chilly in the shade but the sun felt great. Since my race starts about an hour later than my run this morning and will be more than 6 times as long (eek) I think my planned outfit will be just fine.

Post run I stretched (which I will be doing a LOT more of over the next 48 hours) and attempted to tweak my favorite Greek yogurt pancakes. The result was a huge giant failure. I was able to salvage about half of the batter and turn it in an edible pancake but it was not delicious. I'm determined to achieve what I was going for and as soon as I do I'll share the recipe.